Study office supply stores rewards programs to find your best savings

Michelle Rubrecht

Sunday

Aug 4, 2013 at 12:14 AM

Study office supply stores reward programs to find your best savings

This week I reviewed the rewards programs of Office Max, Office Depot and Staples. Each store has a rewards program that is free to join. The principals are pretty much all the same. Join the program, purchase participating products and receive a reward certificate for future purchases. Though they all have the same basic principles, the earning potentials are not exactly the same.

Here are some general tips to help you stretch your dollar at the office supply stores.

• Review each store's advertisement for the products on sale to lure you in the door. Those are the items that you will want to purchase. (Staples, Office Max and Office Depot choose to advertise in select ZIP codes so they may not come in your newspaper. You can, however, review their ads online)

• Pick one store where you'll purchase the majority of your supplies. Because they are giving you a percentage of your purchases back in the form of store rewards, you will have to spend a significant amount to earn any type of reward. By picking one store, your savings will add up over time.

• Take advantage of the specific items on sale and almost free after the rewards.

• Don't forget tax-free weekend for Georgia is Aug. 9-10. This would be a great time to purchase larger ticket items.

• Walmart will match prices if it has the exact item in stock, and the stores follow the quantity limits in the ad. For example, if the ad says limit two per customer, you would only be able to price match two at that price. (Some stores may allow you to purchase more than two; check with the cashier before checking out.) Price matching allows you to score those highly discounted items that the office supply store will most likely have sold out. However, if you price match, you miss out on the rewards that you can earn at the office supply stores.

The programs

• Office Depot: You earn 10 points for every $1 spent on ink, toner, paper and copy services. 1,000 points = a $10 reward certificate. You would have to spend at least $100 to earn the $10 reward certificate. This is equivalent to 10 percent of your purchases. Once you have spent $200 in the quarter you can upgrade your membership to the "Choice Membership" - this allows you to add five additional categories. You will be rewarded with 5 percent back on your purchases in those categories. The amount spent does carry over from month to month during the same quarter. Your membership level starts over each quarter so you would have to continually spend $200 each quarter to qualify.

• Office Max: It offers 5 percent off almost anything you purchase in the store. You must spend at least $500 from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 to earn any type of reward. Five percent of $500 is equivalent to a $25 reward. MaxPerks Teacher Rewards (MaxPerks ) is an OfficeMax customer reward program for teachers which gives you $10 in rewards to spend at OfficeMax for every $75 in qualified purchases - to a maximum of $100 a year. Bonus Rewards for the purchase of specified items and exclusive savings through email and mail.

• Staples: It gives 5 percent back on everything you purchase except postage stamps, gift cards and phone cards. You have to spend $200 to earn the $10 rewards certificate. ($200 * 5 percent = $10) If you spend $500 or more in a calendar year, you upgrade to Staples Rewards Plus which offers additional savings opportunities. You will receive a $5 reward for every $100 you spend when you reach the Rewards Plus status.

Ink cartridges

Office Max, Office Depot and Staples all offer a store credit for ink cartridges you bring in to recycle.

• Office Max: Earn $2 MaxPerks rewards for each qualifying visibly undamaged, originally manufactured ink or toner cartridges of any brand by bringing them to OfficeMax - up to 10 cartridges per calendar month per member.

• Office Depot: Earn 200 points for each ink cartridge you bring in to recycle up to 10 per month. 200 points is equivalent to $2. To receive this reward they require $10 in qualifying purchase in the same month.

• Staples: Staples Rewards Base members can recycle and earn rewards on up to 10 ink and toner cartridges per month. Plus and Premier members can recycle and earn rewards on up to 20 per month. You'll receive $2 back in Staples Rewards per cartridge as long as you've spent at least $30 in ink and toner purchases at Staples over the previous 180 days.

Bonus rewards

The office supply stores also have bonus rewards you can earn in addition to the rewards you earn based on the dollar amount you spend. These are usually on designated products. You will find these bonus offers online and in their weekly ads. Some examples for this week include:

• Office Max: Get 20 percent back in MaxPerks bonus rewards when you purchase $59 or more in HP ink or any two HP cartridges; three times the recycling rewards for each qualifying ink cartridge you bring in to recycle ($6 per cartridge).

• Staples: It offers "easy rebates." You pay the listed price in the ad and then earn back the specified dollar amount to purchase anything else in the store. For example, this week you can purchase Staples 8.5-inch x 11-inch, 10-ream case of copy paper for $29.99 and get back an $8 easy rebate; you can get 10 percent back in Staples rewards when you purchase $75 in HP ink.

Send your tips or questions to Michelle Rubrecht at savvyshopper@savannahnow.com or post them to Facebook at Savannah Savvy Shopper.

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